Interface connection method for multi-scale simulation of linear structures

Multi-scale simulation has recently attracted increasing attention in structural engineering for numerical simulation of a large engineering structure at both macro- and micro-scales so that not only global structural performance but also local phenomena such as stress concentration can be evaluated at the same time. Nevertheless, the multi-scale simulation needs numerical methods for coupling the interfaces between different types of elements, such as connections of beam-to-shell and beam-to-solid. This paper presents an accurate and efficient method in terms of constraint equations for handling interfaces between different types of elements. The relationship between the coefficientmatrix of the constraint equation and the nodal force vectorisfirst derived. The numerical method for generating the coefficient matrix of the constraint equation is given based on the stiffness matrix at the interface. The method can be used for interface connection of beam-to-shell or beam-to-solid ofmembers with arbitrary cross-section. The method is finally applied to acantilever with a box cross-section and the numerical results demonstrate that the method is accurate and easy to be implemented.